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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4940 ..

MRS CARNELL: I paid for it because you directed that I had to pay for it. Mr Speaker, the contract ran for 13 pages and when you have a look at this you will see what we got. It is fairly amusing. What we got was 11/2 pages, the top bit and the bottom bit, and absolutely nothing in the middle. Even today, Mr Speaker, that is it. That is the lot. There is nothing in the middle, just the beginning and the end.

Mr Kaine: Did it cost you much?

MRS CARNELL: It was not cheap, I have to say. It took them a long time to black it all out, obviously.

MR SPEAKER: Like a sandwich that the centre has been eaten out of.

MRS CARNELL: That is right. Even today I have not seen the full contract. What is more interesting is what Mr Berry had to say about our request for him to release the VITAB contract. Let me quote some examples. On 25 November 1993 Mr Berry said this:

I am saying to you that I am not inclined to table the contract with VITAB because it is a commercial-in-confidence document.

I then interjected:

Show it to us in confidence.

I offered to Mr Berry that he could see the contract on the private hospital in confidence. Mr Berry then replied:

I cannot show you anything in confidence, Mrs Carnell. It is like pouring water into a colander; it just goes straight through.

Sound familiar? It does get better, Mr Speaker. On 1 March 1994 Mr Berry said this:

I have told you before that you are not getting a copy of the contract from me, no matter what means you choose to pursue.

Remember, this is the politician who wrote to me earlier this year saying that he believed in the supremacy of the Assembly over the Executive, and that elected representatives must have the right to examine anything and everything that they wanted. This phrase, "no matter what means you choose to pursue", is interesting, is it not?

Mr Berry: No committee ever called for it and there was never a motion in the place.

MRS CARNELL: Yes, I would be embarrassed too, Mr Berry; I really would. How things change in three years, Mr Speaker, and how short some people's memories seem to be. But it does get even better than that. On 12 March 1994 in an article in the Canberra News there was a real gem of a quote from Mr Berry, and I will finish with that, Mr Speaker.

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